On Survivor: Nicaragua, a twist where two contestants prematurely relinquished the game made for great drama, but anyone who tries to follow in Na'Onka and Purple Kelly's footsteps thinking they will get a place on the jury may want to think again. "It's very unlikely any quitter will be on the jury again," executive producer Mark Burnett told TV Guide Magazine at the OWN TCA party on January 6. "It's an earned position and the only reason those two were on the jury, is that it might have been unfair and that might have affected the winner. That's why we did it."

At the Season 21 finale, host Jeff Probst announced that a new rule would be implemented where it would be at the show producers discretion whether or not a quitter would be allowed a final vote or not. Burnett says there is no firm rule in place yet, but sees one as a necessity. "As long as we know going in that if someone quits they won't be on the jury, there's no hard feelings and there's no legal issue," he says.

Quitting is the last thing on his mind for season 23, as he's in the editing stages of Survivor: Redemption Island. "It is absolutely amazing because it's very American," says Burnett. "Redemption is something that we all seek. We make mistakes, Things happen to us, and we want to redeem ourselves. So when you're voted off now, the first person goes to Redemption Island. They're there alone, in very tough conditions. Then next week the second one is voted off, that person goes off to the island. Those two have a head to head challenge. The winner stays there, the loser goes home. Technically, the first person off could win every challenge on redemption island and come back at the end."

And as the show wouldn't have half as fun without its characters, Burnett says the cast will not disappoint this time either. "When the cast is announced, you will see, it is epic."

Two Former Castaways (to Be Announced Later this Week) Will Return to Seek Redemption

Hit Television Series, Hosted by Emmy Award Winner Jeff Probst, will Feature a New Format Twist

Click Here to Meet the Cast (EPK)

CBS today announced 16 of 18 castaways who will compete against each other on SURVIVOR: REDEMPTION ISLAND, when the Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 22nd season, Wednesday, Feb. 16 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Two of the 18 castaways, to be revealed later this week, are former castaways who will return to seek redemption.

This edition of SURVIVOR will feature a new twist when, for the first time, castaways who have been eliminated from the game will have an opportunity to seek redemption and return for a chance to win the million dollar prize. Each week at Tribal Council when a castaway is voted off, they will be sent to an isolated island called "Redemption Island," where they will live alone in exile. To stay on Redemption Island, they will need to compete in a duel against the next person eliminated at Tribal Council and sent to the Island. The winner of each duel earns the right to continue fighting for an opportunity to return to the game and the chance to compete for the title of Sole Survivor; the loser is sent home.

The battle unfolds in Nicaragua where the 18 castaways will be divided into two Tribes of nine: the Ometepe Tribe and the Zapatera Tribe. The tribes are comprised of individuals from all different backgrounds with the same ultimate goal: to be the Sole Survivor. While 16 of the contestants are new to the competition, two are former castaways who will be given another chance to compete for the million dollar prize and one last shot at redemption.

After Survivor fan Jim Early was sued for revealing the show’s secrets, he pointed a finger at one of its most popular players, Russell Hantz, as his source. Andy Dehnart reports:

• Mark Burnett Productions and CBS sued Early for successfully spoiling Seasons 19 and 20.• Early began talking to Russell Hantz on the phone, who would tease information. Once Hantz saw the attention the information got on the Survivor Sucks message boards, Early said, “he just started coming out and telling me what happened: who was leaving, who won challenges."• The Survivor cast members’ contract states that contestants may not reveal "the elimination of contestants and the selection of any winner." The penalty for doing so is "liquidated damages" of $5 million.

Spoiling reality shows—which includes revealing participants before they are officially announced, identifying who will be eliminated or even who will win in a competition, or giving out other plot-revealing information before it is broadcast—has become common practice online, from "Reality Steve" Carbone's information about ABC's The Bachelor to the message board Reality Fan Forum, where members follow CBS' The Amazing Race's production as it films (months before it airs) and identify its cast members using Facebook and other sources. Survivor has been subject to speculation and spoiling since it began in 2000, but it reached new levels during the 2009-2010 TV season.

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RFF's Golden Rule:Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

The former players will each join a tribe after a drawing of concealed buffs and — contrary to internet rumors — they will not be offered any immunity, meaning either one of them could be voted out first (and sent to Redemption Island, where they would be forced to compete to reenter the game). But while Russell may seem like a shoo-in to be the first person out, Probst told EW.com while on location in Nicaragua just minutes after filming on the season began that he doesn’t believe that will be the case. “I do not think Russell or Rob will be the first person voted out of this game. Because I think they bring too much experience — 156 days between the two of them. When you’re playing a game, there’s a lot to be learned.”

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RFF's Golden Rule:Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

"Before I've seen a cut of the first episode, before I've seen one frame of footage, is it too early to predict a Top 5 season?" Survivor host Jeff Probst asks with breathless excitement. And for fans, that excitement is palpable as the CBS reality series enters its 22nd season with the ultimate face-off. Survivor All-Star Rob Mariano, donning his trademark Boston Red Sox cap for his fourth outing, and Russell Hantz, the game's most notorious sock-burning villain, are about to compete against 16 other contestants in a showcase of strategy and revenge in the Nicaraguan jungle (the same location of last fall's season).

But how did these two bitter enemies agree to this battle royale? It all stemmed from a challenge thrown down by Rob during the live reunion show following last May's finale of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. "Russell was running his mouth and Jeff was trying to ask him if he understood the social aspect of the game," remembers Rob. "I clearly stated if he needed an education on how to play, we could go back one-on-one." And the animosity continued when cameras stopped rolling that night. "That a--hole didn't even want to shake my hand!" screams Russell. "I wanted to slap his Boston Rob hat right off his head, and I should have because it would have settled things real quick instead of having to go spend 39 days on an island with that idiot."

Probst (who also serves as executive producer) and exec producer Mark Burnett knew they had to capitalize on this feud and immediately set out to create a season centered around redemption. "The idea came from the constant frustration every season of having great characters get voted out early and the audience wishing they were still around," says Probst. "What better way to kick it off than with Russell, who needs a shot at redemption, and Rob, who represents what happens when you are redeemed?"

The competitors are split into two tribes along with a new crop of players — including two former NFL players and a 2009 Miss USA contender — who had no idea they would be playing with the game's most famous faces. Having already built reputations, Rob and Russell — who have no special immunity throughout the season — both recognize the challenges that are ahead of them. "Obviously I'm gonna have a huge target on my back," Rob says. "If I can form relationships with these people and show them that I can bring something to the table, then I have a chance to play this game the way I want to play it. They have to be willing to give me a shot and give me a chance."

Finding a path to trust will be easier for Rob than Russell, who has been a thorn in the side of his tribe mates in two out of the last three Survivor seasons. When questioned about his cutthroat game play in the past, Russell fully admits there were some instances where he thinks he went too far, such as swearing on his children's names. Which is why he's prepared to change his strategy altogether. "In my previous shows, my strategy was to make [the tribe] weaker so that I could control their minds," he says. "Now, I think I can make them stronger and we can just go to the merge with numbers. If I show them the strength they can have with me, we can go all the way." The kinder, gentler Russell admits the audience may be upset at his new strategy, but it's the motivation he needs to get to the end. "I want to go back and redeem myself," he reveals. "At the same time, I want to go back and wring Boston Rob's neck."

Stephen Fishbach (left) was a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins and finished in second place. He’s written about Survivor and his experience for People as well as hosted our Viewer chat for the current season of the show. You can join his live chat for this week’s episode on Wednesday night here. Below, he discusses how The Hunger Games and Survivor are close cousins.

Nobody is trying to kill you when you play Survivor. Producers aren’t launching exploding fireballs at your head. Poison-tipped tridents are strictly forbidden by the CBS legal department.

But apart from these minor differences, playing Survivor is so much like being a contestant on the Hunger Games, at times I find it hard to believe that author Suzanne Collins hasn’t been a Survivor contestant herself. You’re stranded in an extreme environment — blistering-hot days, bitterly cold nights. The torrential rainstorms seem to never end. You forage for food. You cobble together shelter from sticks and moxie.

To survive, you must rely on the people around you — a multicultural mix from across the country. Only one thing unites them: they are hell-bent on your destruction.

Collins has said she was influenced by reality television. Indeed, the The Hunger Games embraces many of Survivor’s basic structural elements. Just to name one — there’s clearly a little bit of Survivor host Jeff Probst in Caesar Flickerman, the timeless Hunger Games emcee whose “appearance has been virtually unchanged…same face…same hairstyle…same ceremonial suit, midnight blue.”

But the reason The Hunger Games inspires devotion in so many past Survivor contestants — and you would not believe how many ex-Survivors love this book — is that we identify with the protagonist Katniss’s experience beyond the superficial details. The Hunger Games evokes the complex strategic and emotional dynamics of a game where contestants must starve and scheme for victory.

A Survivor’s first decision is — what’s my strategy? You could come out strong, like the Careers in Hunger Games, and intimidate the field with your brash attitude and physical prowess. You could run for the trees and wait for your opponents to ice each other. Or you could panic, trip over your own two feet, and take a knife in the back on day 1.

If you survive that initial scramble, you need to build alliances. But how do you trust someone in a game where there can be only one winner? And what if your supposed ally is deceiving you?

“It’s such a joke!” Katniss thinks at one point. “Peeta and I going along pretending to be friends! … Because, in fact, at some point we’re going to have to knock it off and accept we’re bitter adversaries.”

Katniss is never sure of where she stands with Peeta. Does he really love her — or is it just a strategy? And what does it mean that he’s BFF with the Careers? Then there’s the more troubling problem: Their alliance of convenience is starting to develop into an actual relationship.

Watching Survivor at home, I always marveled that people could be so stupid as to make real friends. It seems like lunacy, from the comfort of your couch, in your air-conditioned living room, your arm buried shoulder-deep in a bag of Doritos.

But the extreme survival situation forges extreme bonds. These people you just met built your shelter with you; you hunted for food together; maybe you spooned for warmth one frigid night. You can never truly trust the people staring across the campfire at you — yet you find yourself trusting them anyway.

When I was on Survivor, I did exactly that. I made an alliance with an Alabama cattle rancher, which evolved into genuine friendship. I struggled to betray him, and kept hoping somebody else would take him out to save me the guilt of backstabbing him. In the end, he soundly beat me.

The single question Survivors get asked the most is — is it real? People think that, as soon as the cameras stop, the producers turn off the rain, craft services brings out a giant buffet, and we all retire to our trailers to watch Undercover Boss.

Survivor is very, very real. Like the Hunger Games, it doesn’t stop — until suddenly it does, and a few days later you’re back at a desk in midtown Manhattan. The better question is, are the relationships real? How much of a personal bond is distilled from the simple need to survive? As Katniss and Peeta discover, there’s no easy answer.

The genius of The Hunger Games is how perfectly it captures the emotional nuances of a game that pushes you to the limits of your endurance.

One moment that touched me came when Katniss said goodbye to her rock shelter, knowing she would never see it again. It’s just like at the end of a Survivor season, when the contestants set their shelter on fire and watch it burn. For the month you’re out there, starving and scheming, the shelter is just misshapen logs that dig into your spine when you try to sleep and a patchy roof that can’t keep out the rain. But when you look at your shelter for the last time, and pause for a second to reminisce, a few rocks or branches can symbolize an entire journey.

Nobody is trying to kill you on Survivor. But as Jeff Probst says every season, “In this game, fire represents life.” When the tribe votes you out and your torch is snuffed, you suffer a metaphorical death. After a month or more of suffering and struggling, losing can feel like a spear in the gut.

I read this today morning but find it irrelevant? I mean it's similar but that's just because of the context. The story line itself still doesn't focus much on the voting off, tribal council and everything which makes Survivor unique!

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

CBS announced that three former Survivors – Michael Skupin, Jonathan Penner and Russell Swan – will join the 15 previously announced castaways in three separate tribes on SURVIVOR: PHILIPPINES. The Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 25th season with a special 90-minute edition, Wednesday, Sept. 19 (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

After being medically evacuated from the game, these Survivor all-stars return to finish what they started and for one more chance at the million dollar prize.

Michael Skupin – SURVIVOR: AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK (2001). First-ever medical evacuation on the series due to severe burns received after passing out into a fire from smoke inhalation on Day 17.

“You don’t want to leave. The longer you are here, the longer you want to stay here. And it’s not even about winning as much as playing. The winning will be anti-climatic. The playing is where it is for me.” – Skupin, before being airlifted off the island.

“I can only recommend for the sake of his leg and his life that he leave the game now. He needs hospital treatment. It is not going to get better. It will only get worse.” – Dr. Jessica Sartini, while diagnosing Penner during the game.

“It was the scariest moment I’ve ever had on this show. In 19 seasons, I have never been more afraid in my life of how bad things were. Russell was in terrible shape.” – Jeff Probst, during the Tribal Council following Swan’s evacuation.

Surrounded by water, SURVIVOR: PHILIPPINES will prominently feature marine-based challenges. For the first time in over eight years, castaways are divided into three tribes, with the winning and second-place tribes granted immunity, while the third-place tribe heads to Tribal Council and faces an elimination.